Mrs. Ryan Read 180 Bud, Not Buddy

What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?

The teenagers riding the rails during the Great Depression accounted for 1/16 (250,000) of a jobless army that numbered four million. Riding the Rails The price of trespassing on the rails was high: The Interstate Commerce Commission recorded 5,962 trespassers killed and injured in the first 10 months of 1932.

At the worst point of the Great Depression, in 1933, one in four Americans who wanted to work was unable to find a job. This massive wave of unemployment hit before a food stamp program and unemployment insurance existed. There were few government programs designed to help the poor or those in temporary difficulty. Further, most wives did not work, so if the husband lost his job, all income for that household stopped. The decade of the 1930s saw the Great Depression in the United States and many other countries. During this decade large numbers of people lived in poverty, desperately in need of more food, clothing, and shelter. Yet the resources that could produce that food, clothing, and shelter were sitting idle, producing nothing.

“Hoovervilles” During the Great Depression, many families lost their homes because they could not pay their mortgages. These people had no choice but to seek alternative forms of shelter. Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, who was blamed for the problems that led to the depression, sprung up throughout the United States. The photos provide a glimpse of some Hoovervilles.

During the Great Depression, unemployment was high. Many employers tried to get as much work as possible from their employees for the lowest possible wage. Workers were upset with the speedup of assembly lines, working conditions and the lack of job security. Seeking strength in unity, they formed unions. Unions are united fronts of people working towards better working conditions and equal rights for employees. Unions

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Even during "Hard Times" and wartime, people need to be entertained. The American people in the 1930’s were no exception. They enjoyed many forms of entertainment, particularly if they could do so inexpensively. Dance Band & a Saturday night dance in the 1930’s

With the addition of sound, movies became increasingly popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles. Some of the great dramas of American film reached theaters. Radio was also wildly popular, offering many kinds of programs, from sermons to soap operas. The New York Theatre (a.k.a. Broadway)

Louis Armstrong was seven when he started working. The greatest American jazz musician, Louis Armstrong ( ), was born and raised in the "birthplace of jazz," New Orleans. His neighborhood was nicknamed the "Battlefield" because of frequent fighting between gangs. Louis's father abandoned his mother, Mayann, soon after he was born. Louis spent the first years of his life in his grandmother's home. Charlie Parker grew up listening to music. Charlie Parker ( ) spent his childhood in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the hottest jazz spots in the country. MTpXHc firmation

Credits Charlie Parker- Conformation. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from Last FM- The Social Music Revolution Web site: Hayes, Mister (2007, 03, 18). The Great Depression. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from YouTube Web site: ladylove1972, (2007,05,07). Dwight Frye - Renfield meets Dracula (Dracula ). Retrieved 06,30,08, from YouTube Web site: Nob, David (2006, 12, 09). What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from You Tube Web site: